ICME: Puns in Other Languages

Great puns are hard to make. Great puns in another language are even harder. For example, my last name is Nguyen. I was on my firm’s softball team, and someone asked me what name I wanted to put on my jersey. I settled on “Nguyenner” but no one appreciated it until I explained that my last name is pronounced “Win.” Lightbulbs flashed. “Oh!” they said. Hmph, I said. I’ve been working here for how long?

This makes no sense until you realize that “Ahn” is generally a Korean last name pronounced “On.” “Ahn Top.” Ha! Ahn-nestly, I wouldn’t put this Ahn my car even if my last name were Ahn, but it is entertaining once the lightbulb is turned Ahn. See, learning foreign languages can be fun!